Tohra
rules out patch-upBathinda, March 4Speculation on possible unification
of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal
has been put to rest with Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, SHSAD President,
refuting reports of a patch-up with Mr Parkash Singh Badal, SAD
President.

What
will poll-year Budget be like?Chandigarh, March 4The Punjab Finance Minister, Capt
Kanwaljit Singh, will present his fifth consecutive Budget later this
month. The likely date is March 19. What should one expect from the
Budget for 2001-2002 that not only happens to be the last year of the
present government’s five-year term but also the election year? One
has to be cautiously optimistic to hazard a guess. It is not easy. The
Budget could just as well be another “cosmetic” exercise —
populist and please-all.

PUDA
promises ‘new deal’ for colonisersChandigarh March 5
The PUDA authorities have promised a “new deal” for licensed private
colonises of the state, ushering in an era of easy entry of new
entrepreneurs. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting chaired
by the Punjab Housing and Urban Development Minister, Dr Upinderjit
Kaur, who is also the Chairperson of PUDA.

Assaulted
by cops, he escaped abduction bidFaridkot, March 4What is the plight of the common
man can be judged from the fact that Mr Gurmeet Singh, a resident of
Gurusar village in Muktsar district, the home district of the Punjab
Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, has been facing repeated
harassment at the hands of police personnel.

Marriage
bureaus taking kickbackBathinda, March 4Various marriage bureaus dotting
the region are not only doing a roaring business of match-making but
also promoting dowry for a few thousand rupees which they get in terms
of commission for arranging the match.

Amarinder
to stay, says ArjunLudhiana, March 4Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee
President Capt Amarinder Singh remains well entrenched in his party
position ahead of state Assembly elections due early next year,
despite three defeats of the party in the Assembly byelections under
his leadership.

Councillors
go undergroundMaur Mandi (Bathinda),
March 4Fear prevails among residents of
the town as the date of elections for the president and vice-president
of the municipal council of the town, is approaching fast. The elections
have been marred by controversy and series of postponements in the past.

Bansi:
people want changeFaridkot, March 4Haryana Vikas Party supremo and
former Chief Minister Bansi Lal has claimed that the “anti-people
policies of the Chautala government have generated a strong
anti-establishment mood among the people of Haryana and the latter
want a change in power in the state.

Day
of rallies aimed at Dalit votesJalandhar, March 4Sunday turned out to be a day of
three rallies in the district with two aimed at garnering Dalit and
Backward Classes votebank, while the third confined itself to forest
workers’ demand.

IMA
seminar on disaster managementSangrur, March 4Delivering key-note address at a
seminar on “Disastar management-role of medical fraternity”, Dr
Rajiv Puri, a specialist in disaster management, said the Health
Department should be well-equipped as far as medical material and
medical manpower was concerned so as to handle emergencies.

Passengers
hit as buses sent to rallyJalandhar, March 4The District Transport Authority
has detained more than 40 private buses so as to ensure the
participation of Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP workers in Thein Dam
rally to be addressed by the Prime Minister today has resulted in
harassment to the public due to the lack of buses at the local bus
stand.

Self-help
groups to empower womenFatehgarh SahibMr R.L. Kalsia, Director,
Department of Social Security, Women and Child Development, says the
government has launched an Integrated Women’s Empowerment Programme
in Punjab by establishing self-help groups (SHGs). The aim are to
empower women so that they could demand their rights from the family,
the community and the government, increase their access to and control
over material, social and political resources and enable them to raise
issues of common concern through mobilisation and networking.

Orchestra
pulls more crowd than VIPChak Fateh Singh Wala
(Bathinda) March 4Punjab Finance Minister,
Kanwaljit Singh, who inaugurated a milk chilling centre here yesterday
turned up about an hour late, keeping schoolchildren, flags waiting.
The kids with SAD flags had to go without water for several hours.
Most of them were from classes VIII IX and X. They were given off from
school to prepare for their annual exams, but were put on “VIP
duty” by the authorities.

PG
docs’ pleaSangrur, March 4The post-graduate doctors of the
1997-2000 batch of the Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) have urged
the Punjab Health Minister, Dr Baldev Raj Chawla, to immediately
release six increments due to them.

Suicide
by 2 accused in dacoity caseSardulgarh (Mansa), March
4Two accused in a dacoity case
committed suicide in their respective dwellings, according to a
delayed report. Police sources said Kala Singh and Namdev consumed
insecticide on March 1 on being ostracised by society.

2
held for murder of NepaleseJalandhar, March 4With the arrest of two persons,
the district police claims to have solved the case of the murder of a
Nepalese. Mr Gaurav Yadav, SSP stated here today that the body of
Bheem Bahadur, resident of Talla Bangari village in Baglon district,
was found in a plot near the canal passing through the local Gautam
Nagar on October 8 last year.

Members
implicated in attack case: panelBarnala, March 4Following yesterday’s attack on
four persons in the local courts complex, the police conducted raids
on the residence of three members of the Kiranjit Kaur Rape-Murder
Action Committee. They are Prem Kumar Kalia, Science Master, Manjit
Dhaler and Narain Dass. Their names figure in the FIR. A case has been
registered against seven persons under Sections 307, 120B, 148 and 149
of the IPC in light of the statement made by Beant Singh, injured
person in the attack.

‘Standard
of education poor’Patiala, March 4There was not even a single world
class university in the entire country and that India was a superpower
in Information Technology sector was a wrong notion. This was stated
by Mr G. S. Peerzada, Managing Director of the Punjab State
Electronics Development and Production Corporation, while delivering
the keynote address at a seminar on Information Technology during the
‘Student-Industrial Annual Meet’ organised by the College of
Management and Technology at the Central State Library here today.

Navodaya
school head suspendedSangrur, March 4Mr Gurdial Singh, Principal of
the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Longowal, has been suspended by the
top JNV authorities reportedly in connection with the death of class
IX girl student, Sandip Kaur, of the Vidyalaya on January 29 last due
to alleged negligence of the Longowal JNV authorities.

Law
graduates conferred degreesAmritsar, March 4More than 125 law graduates were
today conferred degrees by Dr H.S. Soch Vice-Chancellor during the
second convocation of the Law Department of Guru Nanak Dev University.

No
PG test for Ayurveda?Bathinda, March 4The Punjab Ayurvedic Medical
Services Association has said there will not be any admission to MD (Ayurvedic
Medicine) in Government Ayurvedic Colleges this year.

Entrance
test for MD, MS heldFaridkot, March 4The entrance test for admission
to MD, MS and post-graduate diploma courses in three state medical
colleges was conducted by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences
here today.